The holiday season is starting earlier and earlier every year and the announcements for the events are already pouring in. We’ll be updating this list every Thursday leading up to Christmas so keep an eye out for your favorites. And this year we’ve added events that aren’t strictly in game events including charity drives, shopping guides, and more.

Welcome to the final week before Christmas hits! This week things have really picked up and the list has exploded! Find all the new events below in green.

In Game Events:

ANNO Online – Christmas Event – December 18th
Starting today players will discover an imperial ship berthed on their islands bringing new features, quests, resources and more to celebrate the holiday season. Updates for the Christmas Event include The Great Imperial Orphanage, new story quest chains, exclusive items such as the Oriental Embassy and more.

Anarchy Online – Rubi-Ka – December 14th – January 2nd
Old school Christmas social items have been added to the loot from Winter Leets and Kry’Ozch Grin’cha who has returned to ruin Santaleet’s gift shop factory. Gingerleet will also be making a return for the first time in many years. The item shop will have something new for everyone and an additional new item for subscribers. And a new Tree Dress has been added to the Christmas Gifts.

Blackshot – Winter Warfare – ?

The season has come to Blackshot in an explosive way. With Christmas Bauble grenades, mini tree knives, and guns wrapped up with a bow there is a seasonal weapon for everyone. And the maps have been given a redecoration as well.

Champions Online – Winter Event – December 5th – December 30th
Black Harlequin is back again causing trouble the festive season with deadly toys and it is up to the players to stop him before any toys get delivered. Millennium City will transform into a winter wonderland on December 14th and on December 24th you can find Santa in game with presents under a fully decorated tree.

Dark Age of Camelot – Midwinter – December 11th – January 7th
From Santa Nicholas losing his presents to escorting Noelle to the festivities there is something for all types of fans of Dark Age of Camelot this year. With quests for players of all levels. The Midwinter Festival has something for everyone.

DCUO – Season’s Greedings – ?
Larfleeze is up to his usual mischief again this year. Take him and his minions on as they try to steal presents and power rings. Stopping him can earn the player rewards a feats from previous years as well as new ones.

Dota 2 – Frostivus – ?
After taking a year off from the winter holiday season Dota 2’s Frostivus celebrations return! With a new crate of festive goodies and a King in need Frostivus is sure to be an adventure this year.

Dragon Nest – 12 Days of Wintertide – December 12th – December 23rd
Log in every day to get a new special item! Players won’t want to miss any days as every day brings something new.

Dragons Prophet – Silver Dragon Festival – December 20th – January 3rd
The Silver Dragon Festival is a yearly celebration, which stands for the old year’s finish and the New Year’s beginning, an important time for Osirans in the long struggle against the chaos dragons. Players can expect Christmas trees and the chance to adorn their homes with the season’s most beautiful decorations. Adventurers can also encounter a mysterious new dragon called “Randolph” who has a very specific means to be caught. It’s up to the players to find out how this one of a kind dragon can become their companion.

Dust 514 – 12 Days of Dust – December 25th – January 5th
The holidays are all about giving, and at the end of December CCP is offering players the chance to receive epic in-game items on a daily basis. Players will receive 12 bonus in-game items just for logging in and winning a single match each day during this event. Each day that a player logs in and wins, CCP will reveal a secret item. Players will receive a range of DUST 514 gear – rare dropsuits, powerful weapons and specialized equipment. Each offer is good for one day only! Players must log in before 11:00 UTC each day to win and redeem!

Don’t have DUST 514? Well it is free to play but as an extra bonus from December 17th to January 4th CCP are also offering a 75% discount on the Tactical Edition for anyone who thinks Christmas would be better with some New Eden Mayhem.

EVE Online – Yule Lads – 13 days of Icelandic Awesome

The Yule Lads have been spreading cheer throughout the EVE Universe, gifting things to all EVE subscribers both naughty (most of them) and nice (a stalwart few). Seven Yule lads-from Stubby to Door-Slammer to Bowl-Licker-have given their gifts with more to come, including a unique gift that is sure to provide the space-faring players of the world’s largest gaming universe plenty of holiday joy. The unique “advent calendar” style of gift delivery will be open a bit past the holidays so those traveling can return to New Eden (or re-subscribe) to receive the myriad space goodies.

Forge of Empires – Frosty Returns – December 2nd – ?
Frosty the snowman returns once again bringing festive quests to the cities’ population. Every day he will hand out a new quest to players to ear stars. These stars are used to open presents with buildings, decorations, avatars and more.

Forsaken World – Christmas Shop – December 18th – January 5th
Collect holiday badges to be spent at a Christmas shop, and search for presents hiding under trees!

Grepolis – Tyche’s Calendar – December 2nd – ?
Tyche, the Goddess of luck has created a calendar and a festive tree for players to decorate. Get more decorations each day by opening the calendar and spinning the holiday wheel of fortune.

Guild Wars 2 – A Very Merry Wintersday – December 10th – January 14th

Toymaker Tixx’s golem shaped airship returns once more with mischievous toys and fun. And more favorites from last year return including the bell choir, snowball mayhem, and others. New this year is the Winter Wonderland jumping puzzle.

Guns and Robots – Christmas – December 12th – January 1st
Fight fellow players for gifts with weapons that shoot snowballs. And the players who manage to steal the most presents will be entered into a competition to win a Christmas Sleigh. Of course it wouldn’t be Christmas without a few sales added in too. 50% off parts bundles!

Hawken – Operation Frostburn – December 3rd – January 2nd
Hawken is getting in the festive spirit this year with an all new winter themed version of the Last Eco map. But the fun doesn’t stop there! There’s also holiday themed camo, a snowman repair drone, and a candy cane wrapped thruster.

Jade Dynasty – Christmas – December 18th – ?
From a fishmen invasion to a Christmas instance run with the Jade Dynasty team, as well as Christmas Day and New Year’s Triple EXP, Jade Dynasty brings unique opportunities to players.

Kings and Legends – Advent Calendar – December 3rd – December 31st
Log in every day to receive something new. Just click on the day when you log in. But don’t miss a day! The best is at the end.

Microvolts – Frosty Frollickers – ?
Listen to festive music as you battle toys with your new candy can uzi rifles, Rudolph bazookas, and other Christmas themed weapons. While several characters including Naomi, Pandora, Knox, and others get in the festive mood with costumes.

MU Online – Give and Get Back, Holiday EXP Boost, Santa’s Village – December 18th – January 1st
MU Online is going all out this year with four different festive events taking place! The first is a charity drive which you can read all about further down the list. The in game events include Give and Get Back; Send fellow players in game purchases using WCoins to be entered into a special raffle for EXP packages. A 200% Holiday EXP boost will be in place after the regular maintenance on December 18th. And finally, visit Santa’s Village to get random festive rewards.

Neverwinter – Winter Festival of Simril – December 19th – January 9th
Haven’t gotten enough of Neverwinter lately? Take a break from the Shadowmantle update and put down those Hunter Ranger bows. It’s time for the Festival of Simril. Choose from slalom races, icy battles against frozen foes, ice fishing and new crafting. It may be called Neverwinter but you’d never think they weren’t into celebrating it.

Perfect World International – Winter Event – December 18th – January 7th
Celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Day with a slew of holiday decorations, lethal yetis and snowmen, double EXP, spirit, drops and coins, special competitions, and more. New to 2013 is a new Christmas event where players can use the new Penguin Missile Launcher to help Santa and returning is the Skyflame Festival and the New Year’s Cleave event.

Planetside 2 -Auraximas – December 18th – January 8th

Who doesn’t love Advent calendars? So far we’re down three days of Auraximas and players have had the chance to win Station Cards, decals and a big box of goodies. Between those giveaways and double xp in the game until December 22nd, what more could you ask for?

Things to shoot of course. Shoot the snowmen hiding around the place for new titles and more.

RaiderZ
Christmas returns to the world of RaiderZ, rewarding players with the chance to ride Rudolf, collect festive Christmas clothing, exchange cards, and help save Christmas from a dastardly thief!

Rift – Fae Yule – December 12th – January 1st
The fae are up to their usual tricks, stealing from dragon cults and leaving the gifts under trees for adventurers to find. There are 6 artifact sets to complete. Whitefall Steppes gets a wintery makeover for PvPers, and even raiders are included in the festivities.

Silkroad Online – Freezing Winter – December 10th – January 14th
Get the snowman. Hunt snowmen and collect snowflakes for some awesome rewards. Team up to meet the snowflake goal for the server and everyone gets 50% EXP and skill EXP buffs for one hour. When this is completed White Knights will appear, defeating them means special items. And finally if the knights are defeated 5 times the Winter Princess will appear with more knights. Defeat them for more amazing prizes.

Soldier Front 2 – Holiday Mayhem
Tis the season to make mayhem. Soldier Front 2 agrees and in its holiday update has added rifles like the M4A1 Merry, Bolt417 Snow, and AK103 XM to bring joy to any soldier on the battlefield. Other additions include two new M67 Grenades, the Snow and Snowman, new non-holiday themed weapons such as the QBZ97 Red Dragon, M4A1 Gladius and the unique Shuriken Throwing Star. Want to dress up for the season? They’re also offering the chance to play as the abominable Red Snow, or the sexyy Cherry Bomb; each with valuable EXP and SP boosts.

Spiral Knights – Winterfest – December 11th – January 2nd
Grinchlins have vowed to stop Impostoclaus and steal all his presents! Its up to players to defeat the Grinchlins! Find their treasure and collect it or leave it behind to carry on and find more.

Star Trek Online – Q’s Winter Wonderland – December 5th – January 16th
Q’s Winter Wonderland returns again along with all new Q mischief in the form of a Gingerbread colony which is under attack from his legion of animated snowmen. There are prizes to be won, including from a hidden Holiday recipe which when given to the Winter Wonderland Chef unlocks a special mission that rewards players with tasty holiday food and much more.

Star Wars: The Old Republic – Life Day – December 17th – January 1st

Let the Wookie win. Let the Wookie celebrate. Let the holiday cheer really really annoy those Imperial types. Head over to the Galactic Trade Market sector of Vaiken Spacedock to stock up on Life Day goods such as a cheerful seasonal Speeder or fireworks. After that use the force and get yourself over to Ilum to mark the return of the Gree Enclave and enjoy the festivities.

Seriously, no one buy any jumpers for Wookies.

TERA – Wintera Snowfield – December 17th – January 2nd
Snow means only one thing, snowball fights! Queue up for 10v10 snowball battles in Wintera Snowfield. But you have to be at least level 11 to take part. Collect Wintera tokens to trade with Ambrrr for a variety of winter and holiday themed items.

The Secret World – A Mother Of A Season – December 13th – January 2nd
A naturally darker take on Christmas, come visit the Secret World this holiday season and be pitted against the brutal Krampus. Santas list is all Naughty and the Krampus is out to cause some terror. If you manage to turn the tables, you can follow the cheerful guy through a portal into Niflheim, the land of frost and ice. Where better to spend the holidays than fighting monsters, uncovering mysteries and fighting Hel herself in a frozen world?

The Settlers Online – Christmas – December 12th – ?
Player islands have been covered in snow and Santa dropped presents all over them. Gather presents to trade in for special event items. And Santa himself will take players through 8 festive quests.

The West – Holiday Shops – December 19th – ?
The holiday shops will be opening on December 19th this year in The West. Unique sets new and old will be available during this time.

Tribal Wars – Travelling Merchants – Late December
Sometime in late December travelling merchants will arrive in Tribal Wars. They’re looking to trade their valuable goods to players. Players can trade with these new merchants or try to attack the heavily fortified merchant’s posts.

War of Immortals – Yule – December 20th – December 26th
This season take part in a multitude of yuletide events, from collecting presents to meeting Santa Claus. Earn limited time rewards such as the Snowgang Pet, the Christmas Sled, and Christmas Fashions! Events run from December 20th until December 26th.

Out of Game Events:

AbleGamers – Holiday Guide for Gamers with Disabilities
The AbleGamers charity have compiled a list of the top games, assistive devices and game systems for the disabled gamer on your shopping list.

MU Online – Give An Extra Life – December 6th – December 27th
Tis the season of giving and MU Online is teaming up with Extra Life to play 25 hours of MU Online for the benefit of Children’s Hospitals around North America. Players are being encouraged to stretch the 25 hours out and raise money for the kids. And of course there are in game rewards for reaching certain fundraising milestones.

Nexon Europe – 1.5 Million Euro Bonus – December 2nd – January 2nd
Nexon Europe is getting in the spirit by giving back to the community with cash and items. Players receive bonus cash based on how much they’ve spent throughout the year. Buying Nexon Cash during the event also results in getting gifts scaled to how much is purchased. And last but not least spend that Nexon Cash to get even more rewards valued between €2 and €50.